Eutectics give Mustangs a challenge, but CBC ends up with the win

(Photo courtesy of Makenzie Ness)

ST. LOUIS, MO. - Jonas Carlisle scored 20 points and had seven rebounds while Kyle Harding added 20 points and six boards as Central Baptist won their fifth straight to continue an unbeaten start to the 2024 portion of their schedule with an 85-71 win over UHSP. The Eutectics saw their current losing streak extend to now 12 straight since their lone win back on Nov. 11 against Central Christian College of the Bible.

The game was on the verge of getting out of hand early as the Mustangs jumped out to a quick 11-0 lead before the home club even got on the board thanks to an Ahian Barnett layup almost four and a half minutes into the contest. CBC was threatening to run the Eutectics right out of their own gym and they were doing it with transition buckets. Devin Foster jammed one home and Kyle Harding laid one in as the visitors grabbed a 20-5 advantage with 14:13 left in the half. Brady Bowers broke a nearly two-minute scoring drought for both clubs with 12:16 remaining, but Central Baptist continued to pour it on and eventually led 31-13 with just under nine minutes left after Christian White converted on a layup. But it was almost like the Eutectics decided that enough was enough. Dwight Newsome drilled a pair of threes and Sean Paradise Jr. followed with one of his own during a sequence where UHSP outscored CBC 13-6 to make it a game at 37-26. Moctar Keita twice carved the deficit to single digits with layups and at the half the Eutectics only trailed by ten at 46-36.

Early in the second half, Landon Engelage and Keita each converted layups that made it a two-possession game at 46-40. After a Jonas Carlisle layup, Jas Suvalija buried a three and it was a five-point margin at 48-43. That was as close as the Eutectics would get though as Central Baptist went on a 9-0 run to reclaim a comfortable lead at 57-43. In a night that looked like a contest of who could get to the rim more frequently, UHSP made one final surge getting a steal and layup from Brady Bowers, followed by lay-ins from Dwight Newsome and Keita to again cut it to six at 61-55 with 8:42 to go. The Mustangs again went on a 9-0 run to pull away one final time and went on to win by 14. It was a much different looking game from the Eutectics as they made a concerted effort to work the ball inside and challenge CBC in the paint instead of relying on the three. UHSP entered the game averaging nearly 28 threes a night, but only attempted 14 against the Mustangs. Taking the ball to the rim routinely drew fouls from CBC defenders while also minimizing the number of potential long rebounds and transition opportunities for Central Baptist. After CBC hit the Eutectics with the early run to start the game, the Eutectics showed some tenacity and ability to adjust on the fly to how the game was coming at them. It was a game that was competitive all the way to the end.

Ahian Barnett paced the Eutectics with 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Moctar Keita went for 16 points and Dwight Newsome chipped in for 15 points and eight boards off the bench. The Eutectics squeezed off three more field goal attempts than CBC (70-67) but made four fewer (33-29). The Mustangs shooting nearly 50% from the floor proved to be the difference. Central Baptist was 14-of-16 from the foul line (87.5%) while UHSP was 7-for-9 (77.8%). CBC held a slight rebound edge at 40-37 while UHSP had 13 turnovers to ten for the Mustangs.

The Eutectics (1-15, 0-5) welcome in another American Midwest Conference foe on Saturday when the Eagles of Williams Baptist (9-6, 1-3) make the trip north to St. Louis. The Eagles will come in owning a nine-game win streak against the Eutectics. The Purple and Gold then embark on a three-game road trip before returning home for a Feb. 8 game in the AMC against William Woods.